Have I Killed It?

[rls1989]

My Dad bought me a Vuylstekeara which was seriously outgrowing it's pot. So i repotted it in some orchid mix and watered it. Its in an orchid pot which has plenty of holes but, my house is quite cold (i live in the UK) and it's been almost 2 weeks since i watered it and the mixture its in is still damp. The roots sticking out throught the surface have this white fluufy stuff around them.

Also the plant has not been in any direct sunlight, but the 3 out of the 5 leaves have turned brown either at the tips or in the middle of the leaf. Is this orchid going to survive?

[God.Jr]

well as i am new to growing orchids and have not even heard of that kind of orchid yet, i still wish to try and attempt to help......... i did a google and came up with this site that shows a general care taking process need for Vuylstekeara..... well i hope this can help other wise i would wait till the local mods come round the are so helpful........

check out this site---------->general Vuylstekeara growing info
hope that can help

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

This one really needs a picture. The fluffy white stuff may be mold growing on excess fertilizer. I would give the plant a very good leaching (keeping it under running water for a while, or several soaks in a vat of water). And always fertilize at half to 1/4 strength of a general all purpose fertilizer every other to every 4th watering, and leach every so often to prevent fertilizer build up.

[arleneg]

rls989,

If I understand your post correctly, the white stuff surrounding the 'air' roots is velamen. When that's watered, it becomes translucent? Those are healthy roots you see coming through the potting medium. So there's no need to worry, until they turn brown/black (an indication of root rot or just plain dead roots).

[jerrymeola]

Vuylstekeara and many other intergenerics are often overgrown in Hawaii with lots of air roots.

Re-potting them into a larger pot can develop problems.

First the air roots are not conditioned for being in a pot. By forcing them into a pot they go into shock and do not absorb water. I would prefer to cut them off, but most people will not.

Second by adding more medium around what must have been a tight root ball, you have wet medium that has no active roots to use the water, hence it stays wet for a long time. The roots in the pot really need to be loosened and separated.

I once killed a Vuylstekeara with only one watering after re-potting. Since then I either do not put the air roots into the pot. Or I water very little. And always no fertilizer for weeks.

I am not saying this is the only way to re-pot or even that this is the best way. It is only what I do now.

What is important for them is plenty of air circulation. Air will help the pot dry and is generally healthy for all orchids.

The browning leaves is also from shock to the roots. These plants grow fast and discard a lot of leaves each season. I would not worry too much about the leaves. All my tips go brown.

The plant can go dry for a while so I would not water again until it has been dry for a week. In a cool house you may be watering only once a month. Once a week is plenty in our hot temperatures of SW Florida. What I remeber of England is that your homes are usually around 60 (17C)during the winter so very little water.

[rls1989]

well...over last nite, my orchid has seemed to have got worse. The pseudobulb has started to go brown and soggy at the top, and where i had 2 leaves which seemed to look ok, now all 5 of them are turning brown. The roots seem to look a bit better though. I thought maybe there was too much mixture around them so i took some of it away and now the roots have gone white rather than looking soggy like they did. They look a bit healthier. I'll try and add some photos soon, they don't seem to be uploading at the moment. Thanks for all your help. xx

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

xx, this sounds like something that needs immediate attention. Rot spreads very fast. In fact it may already be too late to save your plant. Please send me your pictures, preferabley full sized ones. schnitz @ cableone . net